Red Tulip
by almost-out-of-minutes
Summary: In a dark cave following a monster attack, Reyna experiences the powers of Aphrodite for herself. Percy/Reyna.


A/N:The inspiration for this came from a post on Tumblr by center-of-northpeta. She gave a list of flowers, and each flower had its own prompt. The prompt for the Red Tulip was to write about a ship saying "I love you" to each other for the first time. My friend requested I write a drabble about Percy/Reyna based on this prompt, so here it is.

Two things to note: 1) I know this would never happen in a million years. This was just for fun...and to make my friend cry. 2) If you think this is terribly OOC for Reyna, it very well might be. I actually don't believe in Percy/Reyna, so I seriously doubt she feels like this. I just wrote something to fit the prompt.

With that...enjoy!

* * *

"Reyna? Reyna, wake up!"

Reyna would like nothing more than to grab the hand that's shaking her shoulder, cut it off with her sword, and shove it down the person's throat. Her body is one giant bruise, and the jagged rocks she's lying on are not helping soothe the pain.

Then, she remembers. She remembers the traveling and the searching and the fighting and the rocks caving in and the monsters attacking-

Instantly awake, she scrabbles for her sword. But when she tries to get to her feet, white-hot agony shoots through her leg like an iron stake, and she cries out. Her head bangs against the rocks as she collapses back onto the ground.

"Your leg is broken," the voice says. Looking over, Reyna can just barely make out Percy kneeling beside her, bathed in the dim glow of her sword.

They're still in the cave. The entrance is blocked by heavy black boulders, but at least they aren't surrounded by vicious creatures who want them dead. That's always a plus.

"What happened?" she asks, looking up at him. She isn't keen on trying to sit up again, so she just lays where she is.

Percy sits back on the ground, shaking his head. "When the cave started collapsing, you fell and hit your head pretty hard. The telkhines ran away before the entrance was blocked." He smiles humorlessly. "Isn't that funny? The monsters all make it, but we get trapped inside."

Reyna scowls. "So how do we get out of here?"

"I'm working on that. I was waiting for you to wake up before I tried anything." His voice wavers. Coughing nervously, he rubs the back of his neck, something frantic in his expression.

He was worried, she realizes. A lot. His eyebrows are all scrunched together, and he hasn't stopped looking at her since she woke up.

This isn't abnormal. They're friends on a dangerous quest together, of course they're going to worry about each other. But after her conversation with Aphrodite, Reyna can't help but read into it. And despite what Aphrodite told her -that Percy's feelings for Reyna aren't real, that the goddess of love herself has been warping his mind with magic- Reyna can't help but relish the pure, unmasked relief in his sea-green eyes.

This is what she wants. _He _is what she wants. Why can't things just be like this?

_Because it's not real_, she reminds herself. _You have to fix it._

"Percy," she sighs, struggling to sit up against the giant rock behind her. He puts out a hand to help her, and his warm fingers on her skin don't exactly strengthen her resolve. But then she catches a whiff of perfume, and her eyes narrow.

Aphrodite's meddling must have left its mark on Percy. He shouldn't smell like lady's perfume, he should smell like the sea. Aphrodite is messing with him, changing him, interfering with his mind. This isn't fair to him.

"Percy, about what happened earlier, I-"

"Yeah, that." Percy laughs uncomfortably, looking down at the ground beneath him. It's too dark to tell, but she'd be willing to bet that his face is beet red. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just kissed you like that. I'm surprised you didn't punch me in the face."

Punching him had been the last thing on her mind. Her focus was more on how his skin smelled like the ocean and how soft-

_Stop_. _You are a Roman Praetor, for Jupiter's sake._ _Cut the crap_.

"It's okay. It takes a lot more than a klutzy Greek demigod to break me." She smiles at him, hoping he can't see how much pain she's in. It would only hurt him. "But you need to know the truth."

"About what?"

"About...this," she says stupidly, gesturing vaguely between their two bodies. "About us. About what you're feeling."

"What about it?" he asks, although he doesn't look eager for the answer.

"It's not real."

The silence that descends makes her feel even more claustrophobic; darkness doesn't seem quite so dark when there's sound to block it out.

"What do you mean it's not real?" he asks finally, frowning.

"You don't actually have feelings for me. It's Aphrodite, she's been messing with your-"

"No, that's not possible. I know my own mind. I know what this feels like, I felt this way for..." He takes a shaky breath, pressing the heel of his hand into his eye.

Annabeth. Reyna tries to ignore the automatic stab of jealousy when she thinks about Percy and Annabeth together, the love in their eyes genuine. "Percy, I _talked _to Aphrodite. She said-"

"No. I know what love feels like, okay? I would notice if someone was digging around in my head." Percy is getting more and more agitated, like he's got a raging headache.

Reyna is frozen, though. "Love?" she asks, so softly she doesn't think he'll hear it.

He does. "Yes, Reyna." He looks back up at her, his eyes intense. "I love you. It's not some trick Aphrodite pulled off, it's not..." He shakes his head again, this time rubbing both of his eyes. He groans in pain. "My head..."

"It's the Mist unraveling," Reyna tells him, still reeling. Yes, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, and she isn't one to half-ass anything, but hearing the words from Percy himself has left an ache in her chest that won't disperse. "Your mind is trying to fight it off. Deep down, you know I'm telling you the truth, and-"

"But that's not how it works," he protests, gritting his teeth. "It doesn't hurt when you see through the Mist, it doesn't..." He cries out in agony, and Reyna scoots towards him, hissing when she jostles her leg.

"Percy? Percy, can you hear me?" She lays a hand on his back as he hunches over, moaning.

Aphrodite's spell was stronger than she realized. Percy's mind is warring with itself, trying to fight off the magic like a body fights off an infection.

Reyna vows never to underestimate the goddess of love. Not when love is tearing Percy apart.

"Percy?" she repeats, her voice rising as she becomes more frantic. "Percy, what-"

"You have more self-control than I realized."

Twisting around, Reyna comes face to face with Aphrodite herself. The goddess is watching Percy writhe with a curious look in her eyes, her head tilting to the side. She continues, "If I thought you would try to snap him out of it, I wouldn't have made the spell so strong." She snaps her manicured fingers together, and Percy keels over, unconscious.

"What did you do?" Reyna demands.

"I fixed him, just like you wanted." Aphrodite's ever-changing eyes are full of irritation and grudging admiration. "Happy? He no longer loves you. He's been reverted back to his original form."

Reyna tries to feel relieved, she really does. But the goddess can see right through her, and she smiles wickedly.

"I recommend you don't mess with the magic of the gods, honey. Bad things happen. A headache was nothing compared to what I've seen. Understand?"

Reyna nods, clenching her jaw to keep herself from yelling. "Are you done messing with people's minds?"

"Of course not! It's way too fun to quit." Aphrodite laughs, her voice like church bells and wind chimes and any other beautiful noise you can think of. "But I think you've had enough. Any love that comes your way in the future will be genuine. I'm onto bigger and better things."

With that, the goddess is gone. No goodbye, no apology, no acknowledgment of the pain she caused. Reyna wants to hit something, but she avoids it. No need to break her hand on a boulder for no reason.

She looks down at her friend. Percy doesn't look very comfortable on the hard black rocks, but his sleep looks blissful. He's healed. He'll be okay.

And he doesn't love her anymore. Chances are he won't even remember loving her in the first place. Things can go back to normal. When they rendezvous with the others, Annabeth and Percy can be together again, with no one the wiser.

Except for her.

Great.

Reyna bites her tongue. The tears pricking at her eyes are being held back with sheer will power.

She is a daughter of Bellona. She is a Roman warrior. She can get through anything life throws at her; she's proven that time and time again.

She'll be just fine.

The smallest of smiles graces her features.

Even so, she can't help but give one last salute to what could have been. She leans down, her lips at Percy's ear.

"I love you, too."


End file.
